Common App Essay

[HermioneGranger]

I’m writing about some really personal things in my common app essay, and I feel better writing it in third person; is that okay or no?

[HermioneGranger]

and would it be better if I switched to first person somewhere in the essay to end it?

[gibby]

FWIW: Writing in the 3rd person goes against the first and third rule in this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjorie-hansen-shaevitz/the-best-advice-i-have-fo_b_3644712.html

1. Write as if you are talking to the reader.
I think that the best advice I have ever received about writing came as a result of attending a writing conference. A publishing executive said at the beginning of her talk, “To write easily and well, simply be yourself. Be natural; write as if you are talking to your reader on paper.” As soon as I returned home from the conference, I started doing what she said and never looked back. You can do the same with your college application essays. Remember, the purpose of answering the application questions is to help the college admissions officers get to know you. What better way of doing that is there than to write as if you are talking to them?

2. Use the first person.
Many writers tell me that in order to write authentically, they had to unlearn a lot of what they were taught in school. Among their most important “unlearnings” was to limit using third person pronouns (he, she, they, it), and start using the first person, I. Because college admissions people want to hear about you, you need to write in your own, unique voice. And that means saying such things as, “I have loved numbers ever since I was a little kid. My mother tells me that at the grocery store, I would sit in the cart and add up the item prices she placed next to me to see if I could come up with the same amount as the cash register.” This is a lot more personal and interesting than saying, “Some students have known that they were good with numbers since they were little kids.”

[N_s_Mom]

If what you are writing about is so personal that you can’t ‘own it’ by using the first person, then I would find a topic you can discuss with a greater level of comfort. Remember too that you are trying to present the most positive image of yourself that you can, so if your topic is focused on hardships endured or personal tragedies overcome, remember that the bulk of the essay needs to be on the ‘endured’ and ‘overcome’ parts.